Have you tried DRAFT? If not, the app is awesome! It’s the easiest way to pick a new team every week in my opinion. Download it! Once you do, you can join me and other FantasyPros subscribers in this week’s big tournament. This tourney kicks off Sunday and costs just $10 to enter and there are over $26,000 of prizes up for grabs. The FantastyPros Big Tournament on DRAFT is a five-team snake draft format, so if you pick first, you’re waiting eight more picks until your turn, but then you’ll get back to back picks, twice. Drafting fifth? That means you’ll also get two back-to-back picks twice, along with the very last pick (#25 overall).
The first round of this tournament features 3,125 teams squaring off in 625 individual tournaments. Those winners who advance to the second round of 625 move on to the third round of 125 teams. The semi-finals are 25 teams across five tournaments leaving just five winners to play in the final five-man draft of the tournament. The individual who takes down each round will be handsomely rewarded with a $5,000 first prize. The thing I like most about this particular tourney is the $26,000 prize pool being spread out to where nearly everyone who advances to next week gets some sort of payout. You’ll see what I mean when you find it on your DRAFT app. There is a link to the contest below and on the FantasyPros home page.
For those of you who have played on DRAFT before, your five-team draft will be ready as soon as every fifth man enters and your group is full. When I entered the tourney, it took less than a minute to fill before being dropped into the live draft, so be ready! Don’t enter and set your phone down, or walk away. If you do, you could get auto-drafted. However, if you prepare, you should be in good shape. Much like a season-long draft, you’re able to add players to your queue. I personally like to load up 20-25 players in advance, but that’s hard when your group fills so fast. Having some sort of cheat sheet or rankings available, perhaps FantasyPros ECR, is also helpful considering you’re allowed just 30 seconds per pick.
- You should see the tournament featured up top as one of several featured contest banners.
- There is a full breakdown of the contest details after you click on the banner in the lobby.
Generally speaking, Week 8 appears to be one where you don’t have to reach for a good QB as it’s much more important to get solid talent on your roster with six teams on BYE. Now that you’ve signed up for the contest, (while writing this, it’s almost two-thirds full, so hurry) let’s look at some players who could possibly elevate your five-man roster to the top and bump you into the second round of 625 teams. Hope to see you there!
Draft a team in the FantasyPros Big Tournament ($26K in Prizes)
Quarterback
Dak Prescott (DAL) @ WAS
Dak is one of the safest picks in a snake draft as he has a very nice floor with built-in rushing upside. He also has been extremely efficient in his career against any team that’s not the Giants. Seeing the Cowboys continue to pass in a blowout last week also bodes well considering game script shouldn’t impact his output.
Russell Wilson (SEA) vs. HOU
The Houston defense is a shell of its former self. Due to free agent departures, injuries and suspensions, there are a lot of backups and underwhelming players on that unit. This is also the time of year that Russ gets rolling. He’s a notorious second-half stud every season, and I think it starts now.
Running Back
Le’Veon Bell (PIT) @ DET
This may seem obvious, but for those lucky enough to land the first overall pick, don’t get cute! Detroit is without Haloti Ngata for the season and they’re not stopping the run. The Steelers only two losses have come when Bell doesn’t get a steady diet of touches. Look for him to eat by getting fed early and often.
Chris Thompson (WAS) vs. DAL
Thompson is a valuable fantasy resource with steady work in the passing game. The .5 PPR scoring format makes him excellent for check-downs from Kirk Cousins. He’s game-script proof, taking all third-down work no matter the score. It doesn’t matter who the starter is, he’ll get looks and touches, making a sneaky last-round pick this week.
Joe Mixon (CIN) vs. IND
Mixon has a “squeaky wheel” narrative working in his favor this week. I tend to ignore that noise, but I do think he’s primed for a breakout performance against a Colts squad that’s quickly plummeted to a bottom-five rush defense. It’s a bit risky, but I like his upside much more than Lamar Miller, Carlos Hyde, and Doug Martin.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Green (CIN) vs. IND
As bad as the Indy run D has been, the pass D is even worse. Only the Patriots have allowed more receiving yards per game and that has me all-in on Green. If you’re drafting at the turn of rounds 1 & 2, I urge you to consider him here. I expect him to be peppered with double-digit targets and he has multi-TD upside.
Keenan Allen (SD) @ NE
Speaking of the Patriots league-worst passing defense, they’re tasked with stopping Keenan Allen this week. Allen averages nearly 10 targets per game with 68 total through seven games. I expect that to continue, and the Chargers to be trailing in this game, creating plenty of work for Allen. He’s a great third-round pick.
Demaryius Thomas (DEN) vs. KC
Thomas hasn’t scored in a year. He’s due, really due. He gets coverage from Terrance Mitchell and Phillip Gaines. Both CBs are allowing a staggering amount of completions and yards. Mitchell, in particular, is getting absolutely torched. Look for DT88 to roast the Chiefs bottom-five pass D and prove he’s still fantasy relevant in a big way.
Adam Thielen/Kyle Rudolph (MIN) vs. CLE
With Stefon Diggs still battling a nagging groin injury, I expect a majority of the passing targets to be funneled to both Thielen and Rudolph. Thielen has been phenomenal this season and Rudolph has been seeing a lot of targets with Diggs inactive. I don’t trust Diggs this week and would rather invest in both of these guys instead. Rudolph is a good guy to have in your back pocket if you find your player queue empty with your last pick. The Browns are notoriously atrocious at covering the TE position and Rudolph is a major redzone threat. The Vikings are likely to struggle running the ball, making the passing game all the more enticing with Browns CB Jason McCourty downgraded to doubtful and S Jabrill Peppers listed as questionable for this matchup.
Draft a team in the FantasyPros Big Tournament ($26K in Prizes)
Josh Dalley is a correspondent at FantasyPros. His username on DRAFT is DFSDad. For more from Josh, follow him @JoshDalley72.